Three Robinswood administrators arrested following indictments

The three are accused of covering up the rape of a patient by an employee

LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) - Three administrators at a local school for the developmentally disabled have been arrested following their indictments last week.

School Administrator Gordon M. Propst, 72, of Lake Charles; Assistant Administrator and Safety Director Thomas A. Leonards, 64, of Iowa; and Social Services Coordinator Jeanette Thevis, 68, of Lake Charles, are accused of covering up the rape of a patient by an employee. An attorney for two of the defendants says they are falsely accused.

They were each indicted on Thursday, Nov. 29, on charges of accessory-after-the-fact to first-degree rape, obstruction of justice and failure of duty to report.

They were arrested around noon Monday at the Robinswood School and released Monday afternoon on $15,000 bond each.

The employee, Willie Stevens Sr., 51, was arrested on Oct. 1, and indicted for rape on Nov. 29. Stevens is accused of having sex with a female resident who suffered a “traumatic brain injury”, according to the indictment. The incident happened in 2017.